In Between the Lines
by suspensegirl
Summary: A CB oneshot about a missing end scene from 2x01. ;p Please R & R. ;


A/N: Ok….the last few days have been a freaking whorlwind. From going out of my mind with excitement because of those INCREDIBLE CB spoiler pics that will just about save us from the clutches of NB and CV evilness in the following weeks…to freaking out with the assumption from some people of a continued love triangle past the finale and into next season…and now back again to reports of the latest NB kiss being false and the reassurance that this season is CB's and so it would simply not make sense for them to not return to each other in the end. And yes….these ingredients formed many of my classic CB meltdowns…but I have recovered and I am here to give you the final CB oneshot before heading back into my normal schedule of writing CB fanfics! ;p So…enjoy and PLEASE review! =D

(This CB oneshot is a hidden scene from the end of 2x01 "Summer Kind of Wonderful"…)

…………………………………

It was late, dark, and Blair Waldorf was beginning to hate high heels.

_Not that she would ever admit this out loud._

_Pain is beauty._

Her night with Marcus had been wonderful.

_As far as anyone looking on could tell._

_He was British, after all. And a LORD!_

Her smile could not have been any faker, if she had planned it ahead of time.

"Serena?" she called into the empty house. She had seen the tall blonde going around bidding her farewells earlier than expected, but hadn't thought much of it.

_How could she when Chuck's failed jealousy and her pretend prince were consuming her thoughts?_

She set her purse down momentarily on the elegant end table decorating the foyer. There had been no response, but Blair hardly had the energy to contemplate where her best friend might be. If anything it was good for her to be out when she had hardly known the meaning of the word all summer.

"_I still miss Dan sometimes, more than sometimes…all the time—"_

"_The only thing lamer than dating Dan Humphrey is _mourning_ Dan Humphrey"_

She sighed, crossing the threshold of the sitting room where the comfortable lush loveseats seemed, at the moment, to appeal more than the guest room bed designated for her.

_It wasn't as if Serena's feelings weren't echoed in her own mind. They were just directed towards a certain Basstard who had decided sweeping her off her feet wasn't the best idea all summer._

_Although clearly he had reconsidered—not that it had done either of them much good._

_All she could do to get his hot, breathy voice out of her head was to focus on the ken doll that so coincidentally answered her fairy tales. _

**CLICK.**

**CLACK.**

**CLICK.**

**POP.**

She paused.

Just before the couch, to release her throbbing feet from their ivory encasements.

"Blair?"

Her eyes closed slowly.

_Of course _it_ had to be the opening of yet another scotch bottle, following the silenced tap of her shoes._

Frustration? Sadness? Anger? Fear?

She had no idea what she was feeling.

But the chills running up and down her spine…and the sudden realization of her tiny arm hairs standing on end…told her one thing.

She had to get out of there.

_The fear of succumbing to infidelity had never surged so close to the surface._

She shifted her body slightly on the small couch, tugging as much as she could to extend the short dress further down her thighs.

She was mad at him after all. _Pissed._

She shouldn't be—

_**SCREECH.**_

_Crap._

She gulped, squeezing her eyes tight in the hopes that if there was a god, he would prevent Chuck Bass from crossing over to where she was seated.

_It was just lucky for her that he wasn't in that particular room._

_Or rather that the bar hadn't been _built _in _that _particular room._

She could hear his dark, shallow breaths.

_And god willing she would be able to ignore the smell of scotch raking off his tongue from two rooms away._

_Gulp._

She said nothing.

_She hated him. She what he could do to her. What he was _still_ doing to her, and for what he couldn't say._

It was what she had been wanting to hear all summer.

She was done cursing herself for falling for Chuck Bass.

_It was time to move on._

She stood to her feet, gathered her shoes in her hands, and travelled back through the corridor in order to reach where she had so non-chalantly left her purse.

**GASP.**

"Don't leave like this," he whispered. And she swore she had never seen the boy move from across the floor to where she had been heading, so quickly.

_Let alone place his hands where hers rested on the purse…at the same time._

"Let go, Chuck."

She was bitter when she spoke. Done being vulnerable.

_At least for the night._

She wouldn't looking at him. She couldn't face his tear-stricken, alchohol abused expression. It wouldn't matter if he was drunk or sober at this point. His feelings would be the same.

He wanted her. He was sorry. But he couldn't say those words.

And _that_ fact alone made her pull away, instantly regretting the loss of heat from the feel of his hands. But ignoring that sadness instantly.

"Blair…" he called out again, making her pause half way up the staircase.

She wouldn't turn around. She wouldn't dare look.

_She was already crumbling._

It's much harder keeping up appearances in front of the one who always knows when you're faking.

"What?" she spat, finally.

Her breathing. His breathing.

They took up so much time suddenly.

And the intensity of her body's want for him combined with her heart's need for his love…made her grow weak, and yet only increased the strength of her guard.

It was clear he had no idea where to go from there.

He knew what she wanted, and he just didn't seem able to oblige.

The sole purpose in his actions was to get her attention.

He honestly didn't think he would get this far.

Hadn't anticipated being around when she returned home in the first place.

It surprised him how open and yet guarded she suddenly was.

_She hadn't even brought up the British prince yet. _

She sighed.

"Goodnight Chuck," she said blankly, and continued her ascend up the stairs.

He said nothing.

Only watching her graceful figure as it left him once again.

_You're a complete idiot, Bass. MORON._

………………………………………….

He didn't creak that night, as he stumbled up the stairs hours later. He didn't know how long he had been standing there at the base of the staircase, watching in the direction where her form had retreated to. And he didn't have some old keepsake, or some ancient note they had exchanged as kids to lay beside her as she slept.

But he still watched her.

She was beautiful.

Always had been.

And _this_ was the type of thing he had been missing all summer.

The way his heart ached when he saw her flirting with complete strangers…or idiots, in Lord Marcus' case. The way his mind played tricks on him when he surrounded himself with beach sluts…always envisioning her face on their so utterly uncomparable bodies. The way everything she said…and every place she had touched on him…and how nobody had been able to erase her from every part of his being…

All of that.

Didn't compare to this moment.

Right here.

Her slow steady breaths.

The way a stray brunette curl would fall into her face, and how after awhile he would lean forward and tuck it behind her ear.

How her arm hairs would rise every so slightly and the visible shiver brought enough concern for him to bring the covers farther up her slender chilled body.

Even if it was still summer.

How her pouting ruby lips would remain still so supple and begging to be touched….even in her unconscious state.

It was killing him not to lie down with her.

Not to tell her everything she wanted to hear.

Except that one thing.

God, he was an idiot.

But he wouldn't lie. When he spoke, he spoke the truth. And so much had happened that summer. Somehow his convicting statement to Nate over his love for Blair at the wedding…didn't seem enough right now.

It hadn't been enough to change his mind when he decided to abandon her at the beginning of summer after all…and consuming nearly all the scotch not only at the White Party but also at their Hampton House that night, didn't resolve anything. It would never.

"Chuck…" she whispered. Suddenly, and out from the darkness.

Somewhere between getting mesmerized with her sleeping figure, he hadn't realized how close to her he had come….and the instant her beautiful doe eyes flickered open.

She didn't move away or yell or demand that he leave.

And he just looked at her.

Silence.

And there was that heat again.

Only this time it was on both ends.

And there was no glass of scotch in Chuck Bass's hand.

And there was that stray curl back in her face.

He bent down on his knees and carefully, slowly pushed that curl back where it belonged.

He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose, following up to her forehead, down to both sides of her face and giving special attention to her tiny chin.

**GASP.**

He wanted her. _Bad_.

And it wouldn't take a scientist to figure out what her feelings were on the matter.

He could already feel the heat rising off of her body from beneath those thin sheets and extravagant covers.

But he had dug himself into a hole.

_One that could not be fixed as easily as he'd hoped. _

So, he cradled her head in his hand and placed a tender, brief kiss on her moist lips.

One which she reciprocated.

"Goodnight, Blair."

**EXHALE.**

**INHALE.**

**EXHALE.**

By the time he had reached the doorway of her bedroom, her little eyes could not have dared attempt closing again.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, hardly whispering as he made his way down the hall to his own room.

Shutting the door behind him. Both of them.

_And she'd be damned if between the lines Chuck Bass hadn't just admitted to missing Blair Waldorf._

"…_amidst all the fireworks on Bastille Day, all I could see was that Chuck Basstard!"_

She laughed quietly…nervously, to herself, hoping that would numb how horny and bewildered she had just become over his quiet sentiment.

Trying to focus also on how angry and hurt he had made her, she allowed herself to attempt relaxation ever so slightly into the huge, puffy pillow. Or at least the type of relaxing that would allow for _some_ sort of sleep.

Her eyes closed.

…_okay maybe she had missed him too._

Speaking only in between the lines, of course.

…………………………..

A/N: I hope you loved it!!! And that it's not total crap! XD R & R PLEASE!!!!! =DDDDDDD

_Coming Next: Book of Beginnings—Ch. 7_


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